On Monday, January 20, people will be watching closely how shares of Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel perform. The Indian government is thinking about a plan that would help these companies by cutting their bills significantly. This has to do with a Supreme Court order from 2019 that asked these companies to pay a lot of money called adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.
If the government goes ahead with this idea, it could mean a huge relief—over ₹1 lakh crore (which is a lot of money) for these telecom companies. Most of this relief will help Vodafone Idea, which is struggling to pay back its debts. Currently, Vodafone Idea owes thousands of crores to the government, starting in the financial year 2026, which puts its future in doubt.
Under the new proposal, Vodafone Idea could potentially reduce its dues by over ₹52,000 crore, while Bharti Airtel could cut theirs by nearly ₹38,000 crore. Another player, Tata Teleservices, could reduce its dues by about ₹14,000 crore. However, Reliance Jio will not be affected as it doesn’t owe any legacy dues.
The people discussing this plan are from the finance ministry, the telecom department, and the cabinet secretariat. There’s hope that the government will announce this in their upcoming budget on February 1. This would be the second big relief package for this financially troubled sector since September 2021. Just last month, the government also helped by allowing Vodafone Idea to stop providing bank guarantees worth ₹24,800 crore for their past spectrum dues, making it easier for banks to lend them money.
The government wants to keep the telecom market competitive, allowing three strong private companies to compete alongside state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). The telecom industry has been facing tough times, especially after Reliance Jio came into the market in 2016, leading to intense competition and financial struggles.
In October 2019, the Supreme Court ordered telcos to pay ₹1.47 lakh crore in AGR dues. This amount included ₹92,642 crore for license fees and ₹55,054 crore for spectrum usage charges. Most of these dues are due to interest, penalties, and other charges that have added up over time.
Last year, in September 2024, the telecom companies tried to challenge the Supreme Court’s decision, but the court turned down their request. Vodafone Idea then had AGR dues of ₹70,300 crore, and Airtel owed ₹36,000 crore. Because of accumulating interest and penalties, the latest estimates until March 2025 suggest that Vodafone Idea could owe between ₹80,000 to ₹85,000 crore, Bharti Airtel between ₹42,000 to ₹44,000 crore, and Tata Teleservices between ₹17,000 to ₹19,000 crore.
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